The Evala festival in Togo is one that has drawn serious condemnation from the international community. Besides the fact that young boys are subjected to unbelievable food traditions, there is also the inhumane treatment of animals during the festival.
Each year thousands of teenage boys in Togo, Africa, go into isolation for a full week, to chow down on dog meat for a full seven days. The teenagers then reappear and spend the following week gorging on even more dog meat.
This is seen as a form of rite of passage for the boys who are to compete in ‘traditional initiation’ wrestling competitions known as Evala. The Evala annual ritual runs for two weeks.
Every young adult is required to partake in the ritual for a duration of three years. As the Evala wrestling practice spreads across more locations, so does the mass number of brutal slaughtering of dogs for dog meat, seen as the wrestler’s secret weapon for success.
Each competitor desires the attributes which dogs possess: loyalty, courage, intelligence, endurance, cunning, faithfulness and so on. It is falsely believed that eating dog meat will transfer the dog’s attributes to the boy, giving him supernatural powers over his opponent.
Dogs are eaten because they are considered to be cunning, enduring, courageous, smart and faithful. These are qualities required for wrestlers to defeat their opponents during the fights.
The number of dogs slaughtered for the Evala festival each year is unknown. However, the number can be projected to be at staggering figures as thousands of young men from numerous different tribes partake in the competition each year.
The young Kabye man does not become a fully-fledged member of his community unless he completes the three-year initiation ritual. To refuse participation in initiation ceremonies means being driven out by your family, elders and the entire community at large.
Rabies is a serious problem in Togo and the Evala festival is placing local people and tourists in jeopardy by continuing to slaughter and consume dogs and cats which receive no health checks.
